At least some in ANC put SA first

Even before it got under way, yesterday’s crisis meeting of the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) – called to discuss President Cyril Ramaphosa’s fate – said so much about how the party runs our country and treats us, the citizens.

Firstly, it only got going hours later than the supposed 2pm start. Then, as delegates milled around outside and gossiped, the venue began to resemble a parking lot for high-end, expensive German sedans and SUVs. The gravy train and inability to stick to commitments – there in one simple picture.

Make no mistake, the gravy train was always going to be the elephant in the room as comrades lined up for and against Ramaphosa.

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Even though he painted himself as the head of government who would clean up South Africa, Ramaphosa’s henchmen have already been caught with their hands in the till … and he has allowed the crooks of the radical economic transformation (RET) clique loyal to Jacob Zuma too much free reign.

His own conduct over the Phala Phala burglary has left more questions than answers and has showed that Ramaphosa has feet of clay.

The NEC meeting was a crucial watershed in South African politics – almost as tectonic an upheaval as the 2017 Nasrec conference, when the ANC gave Zuma his marching orders.

Ramaphosa was, according to many accounts, on the verge of resigning in the wake of the finding of the investigative panel that he may have violated his oath of office and the constitution.

His allies came to his defence because they know that the RET wolves are still out there, just beyond the firelight of civilised discourse, ready to pounce and devour what is left of our finances and our democracy.

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That is comforting because it shows there are still people with a conscience in the ANC who do put the country’s welfare first.